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THE LION AND THE UNICORN

Name: THE LION AND THE UNICORN
Author: Shirley Hughes
ISBN: 0-7894-2555-6

by Shirley Hughes ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 1999

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From Hughes (Enchantment in the Garden, 1997, etc.), a WWII story with big ambitions—many of them realized’set out in the pages of an unusually long picture book. Lenny Levi lives in London with his mother during the Blitz, cherishing the letters from his father at the front, and the medal of the lion and the unicorn his father gave him. When Lenny is evacuated to the country, he finds himself at a huge old manor with three little girls, the lady of the house, and a few servants. He is lonely, teased at school and at home for not eating bacon and for bedwetting, but makes a friend of the young man with one leg he meets in the secret garden on the estate. The garden, thick with roses, also holds a beautiful statue of a unicorn like the one on his medal. As Lenny’s loneliness and fear spiral out of control, a night vision of the unicorn brings him back; his mother comes to take them both to his aunt in Wales, where his father will join them. The storyline, while straightforward, hints at difficult subjects—religious differences, amputees, separation, family disruptions, the terror of bombing, and more—which are then given only cursory treatment. The pictures are splendid: luminous, full-bodied watercolors that capture the horror of London burning, the glory of the countryside, and mists of dreams. It may be difficult for this to find its audience, but children too young for Michelle Magorian’s Good Night, Mr. Tom (1986) might be captured. (Picture book. 8-10)

Pub Date: April 1, 1999

ISBN: 0-7894-2555-6

Page Count: 60

Publisher: DK Publishing

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1999

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S HISTORICAL FICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
RUBY IN THE RUINS
by Shirley Hughes ; illustrated by Shirley Hughes

- BOOK REVIEW
WHISTLING IN THE DARK
by Shirley Hughes

- BOOK REVIEW
DIGBY O'DAY AND THE GREAT DIAMOND ROBBERY
by Shirley Hughes ; illustrated by Clara Vulliamy

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A PICNIC IN OCTOBER

by Eve Bunting ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 1999

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Bunting (I Have an Olive Tree, p. 719, etc.) once again explores larger themes through a quiet family story. Every October, on Lady Liberty’s birthday, Tony and his extended family have a picnic on Liberty Island. The family rendezvous at Battery Park to take the ferry out to the island. Waiting in line, Tony, who thinks the picnic is pretty corny, is approached by a woman, obviously a new immigrant. She gestures her alarm when the ferry departs without her; she is soothed when Tony motions that the ferry will return. Once on the island, Tony’s family has the picnic before toasting the statue and blowing kisses to her. Later, Tony spies the woman he had helped earlier, and the way they look up at the statue, “so still, so respectful, so . . . so peaceful, makes me choke up.” This sense of refuge drifts through Bunting’s text, as fundamental and natural an element of life as are the everyday incidentals she braids into the story and all of which are exquisitely caught by Carpenter’s vivid illustrations. (Picture book. 5-10)

Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1999

ISBN: 0-15-201656-2

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Harcourt

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 1999

Categories:

CHILDREN'S HISTORICAL FICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
HELLO, BABY! I'M YOUR MOM
by Eve Bunting ; illustrated by Jui Ishida

- BOOK REVIEW
LITTLE YELLOW TRUCK
by Eve Bunting ; illustrated by Kevin Zimmer

- BOOK REVIEW
I'M A DUCK
by Eve Bunting ; illustrated by Will Hillenbrand

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HOW ARE YOU PEELING?

FOODS WITH MOODS

by Saxton Freymann & illustrated by Joost Elffers ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 1, 1999

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Going produce shopping with Freymann and Elffers is more of a casting call than a trip to the supermarket, for they use fruits and vegetables to display a wide range of emotions. Children and their keepers will be astonished to discover how closely the wrinkles, bends, and creases in produce can mimic human feelings. The text is fairly direct, asking questions to make children think about their emotions: “When you’re angry, do you pout? Whine? Cry? Scream? Shout?” The ridges of a red pepper, with eyes of dried peas, convey the pout, while other fruit demonstrate the rest of the query. These full-color photographs communicate most of the information; even preschoolers will be able to tell a happy orange from a glum one, and adults will smile to see an onion crying. The organic qualities of the produce are used to charming advantage, e.g., the bend of a green pepper makes the perfect overbearing profile of a bully, while a hollowed-out orange gives just the right depth to an opened-mouthed howl. Fun, and useful—what child would not be encouraged to talk about being shy when there is a cantaloupe that admits to exactly the same thing? (Picture book. 4-9)